The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels during the national anthem before the NASCAR Sprint Series auto race in Fontana, Calif., on March 23, 2014. / Alex Gallardo, AP

by Rob Johnson and John Bacon, USA TODAY

by Rob Johnson and John Bacon, USA TODAY

PENSACOLA, Fla. - A former Blue Angels commander tolerated and sometimes encouraged an "inappropriate work environment" that may have violated the Navy's sexual harassment and hazing policies, a Navy investigation has revealed.

The Navy said in a statement that the investigation of Capt. Gregory McWherter is continuing.

McWherter led the Navy's Pensacola-based, acrobatic flight squadron for almost four years from 2008 to November 2012. He was fired last week as executive officer of Naval Base Coronado in San Diego and reassigned to other duties due to the investigation, which started with a complaint filed last month concerning his time with the Blue Angels.

"All Navy leaders, whether assigned to a highly visible unit like the 'Blues,' or to our installations, squadrons, ships and submarines, are held to the highest standards, Vice Adm. David Buss, commander of the Navy air forces, said in the statement. "The Navy expects everyone, from those officers in command positions to sailors on the waterfront, to provide principled and highly ethical leadership, stressing discipline, accountability, and the importance of treating shipmates with dignity and respect."

The complaint claims "lewd speech, inappropriate comments, and sexually explicit humor were allowed in the workplace and in some case encouraged by the commanding officer," the Navy said.

Pornographic images were displayed in the workplace and shared in electronic communications, the complaint said. Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, ordered an investigation that is continuing. The Blue Angels continue to train and no changes have been made to their performance schedule, the Navy said.

McWherter, who has not been available for comment, is an Atlanta native and "Top Gun" graduate of the Navy's Fighter Weapons School. Some who served under McWherter are speaking out on his behalf.

Melinda Cary, who served in McWherter's command of the Golden Dragons, an F/A-18 fighter group, while in Japan from 2006 to 2008, said a command survey once indicated that men didn't treat women fairly.

"The first thing he did was bring us to talk about who was telling jokes," she said. "And he went out, and, I guess, set them straight. He followed up and made sure we weren't still having trouble."

Michael Hoffman, who said he worked as McWherter's enlisted personal assistant on board the carrier USS Kitty Hawk from 2006 to 2008, said his boss wouldn't tolerate an inappropriate climate in the unit. "He would never allow that. If anything like that happened his would shut it down. I saw him do that: step in and take care of it."

Hoffman, now a student at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, said McWherter is the "best officer I have served with." He added, "No matter how this thing goes, I know how the Navy works. He'll never be an admiral. That's a loss for the Navy and for the country."

The usual Naval procedure in such investigations is to conduct interviews with others in the command and ask for sworn statements related to the allegations, said Kris Elliott, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and lawyer whose career included a stint as a defense counsel in court-martial and other disciplinary actions.

"I would think they would look at the alleged participants, not just McWherter. If they used computers I think the investigation would want to look at the hard drives," said Elliott, who now specializes in military criminal law, among other areas, from his Gulf Breeze, Fla., office.

In naval criminal investigations, suspects are typically "given their rights" under Article 31B of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is similar to a Miranda warning in civilian law enforcement. The military rights warning is somewhat different in that suspects are told specifically what the charges are.